


No Rings Attached

by a_bit_of_foolish_hope



Category: Good Mythical Morning, Rhett & Link, rhink - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Sweetness and Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 16:43:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11490489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_bit_of_foolish_hope/pseuds/a_bit_of_foolish_hope
Summary: The night Link proposed to Christy was the most important night of his life. But what if she'd said no?





	No Rings Attached

Link sat on the hood of his car in the empty parking lot. On a happier night he may have looked up at the stars, the ones that were still visible through the city lights, at least. Tonight, however, his glasses sat folded on his lap and he pressed his palms into his eyes, willing the tears not to come.

He heard the rumble of a motor and the muffled sound of music as a car pulled into the spot directly next to him. Link hoped it was Rhett and not a stranger who may ask unwanted questions, but he didn’t look. As soon as he moved his hands or opened his eyes, the dam would be broken and the flood would begin. The motor next to him cut off and he heard a door open and slam shut.

“Hey brother,” said a familiar voice. “I got your text. What happened?”

Link shook his head in a silent response. He had asked Rhett to meet him here in hopes that he could talk away his pain, but now he wondered if talking was even worth it. How could this have happened? Everything had been going so perfectly. What had he done wrong? Link felt the warmth of Rhett’s hand on his should and instinctively leaned into it.

“She said no,” Link said, using all of his will to force the words past his lips. As soon as he did, he choked and a wetness covered his palms. Realizing tears were already flowing forward, he succumbed to them, his hands still over his face not to fight them back, but to hide his shame. The lump that was caught in this throat grew, and as it did Link’s sobs became more and more violent. Soon he was shaking and wailing like a child, a slave to his own sorrow.

He had been impatient. It was stupid. Christy was the most amazing woman he’d ever met. Her blonde hair and bright smile had caught his attention from the moment he met her that day at the roller skating rink. The cheesy color lights spun from the ceiling, illuminating her in reds, greens, and purples that would have been painfully unflattering on anyone else, but nothing could look unflattering on Christy White. It was only through Rhett’s encouragement that he had asked her to pair with him during the couple’s skate and by some grace of heaven she’d said yes. He’d felt so awkward and lanky skating next to her. He’d held her hand and spent most of his effort trying not to look as nervous as he’d felt. He must have done something right that day. That day had lead to another and then another until they were officially dating. That day had changed his life, or so he thought.

Christy didn’t go to the same college as he and Rhett did. Instead, she attended a all-girl’s university nearby. That didn’t stop them from spending every moment they could together. Every they would visit one another’s dorms and occasionally they would be brave enough to stay the night. More often than not the overnight’s were at Link’s dorm, not only because Rhett was a more understanding roommate but also because NC State was also a more understanding school. RN’s didn’t care quite as much when a stranger happened to hang around after hours. He remembered the feeling of falling asleep with her hand in his. The wonderful discomfort of two bodies sharing a tiny, twin mattress. The look on her face when he woke her in the morning and she smiled a smile that he swore was made just for him.

But none of that meant anything now.

Why hadn't he waited? One more paycheck and he would have had the ring. Two more weeks. Fourteen days. Would it really have been that hard to wait? Maybe if he’d had a ring it would have turned out differently. He and Christy hadn’t ever really talked about the future together, but everything had been going so well. Every day she was gone on that summer trip he thought about her and how she was the only one for him. He was certain she’d felt the same.

So when she returned from her trip and he finally saw her again, he dropped to his knee. He couldn’t help it. Ring or no, he was too excited to wait.

He had taken her hand in both of his and asked those four special words…

Her silence had been deafening.

The small tug she gave to pull her hand away was just the nail in the coffin.

Link’s sobs finally began to subside and he took a few shaky breaths to try and steady himself.

“I’m sorry, man,” he said with a sniff, wiping snot and tears from his face with the sleeve of his shirt. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to break down like that.”

“Hey, hey,” Rhett said gently, putting his hands squarely on Link’s and lowering himself so that Link was forced to look him in the eye. “You’re not allowed to apologize. Not to me. Not for this.”

“I loved her so much, Rhett,” Link said and sobs overtook him once more.

“I know buddy,” Rhett replied, taking Link in a full embrace, one hand gently cradling the back of Link’s head. “I know.” Rhett was patient as Link cried in his arms, wetting the shoulder of his polo with tears. “It’s going to be ok,” he cooed. “I know it’s not ok now, but it’s going to be. Someday.”

“How do you know?” Link asked into Rhett’s shoulder. Rhett held his friend even tighter.

“I just do.”

Link felt Rhett adjust slightly and then felt the pressure of a kiss on the crown of his head. His sobs came to a halt and he pulled backward, breaking the gentle hold Rhett had on him.

“What was that?” he demanded. His vision would be blurry from crying even with his glasses, so he could barely see the expression on Rhett’s face.

Rhett backed up a few steps, holding his hands up in apology.

“That was stupid. I’m sorry.” The words spilled from Rhett’s mouth in a frantic ramble. “I was just trying to make you feel better. I thought…I just kind of acted on instinct. It didn’t mean anything. I was just trying to comfort you.”

“Guys don’t kiss other guys to make them feel better,” Link replied, his shock over the situation evident in his voice.

“I know. I know, I just thought…I mean…” Rhett’s word’s trailed off.

“What?”

“Guys don’t crawl into their friend’s bed when they’ve had a nightmare and can’t get back to sleep either,” Rhett said quietly, dropping his hands to his sides. Link blinked at him.

“I only did that two times,” he said, dumbfounded. What did that have to do with anything?

“And I don’t think guys wrestle in their rooms like we do, either,” Rhett added.

“Guy’s wrestle all the time,” Link insisted. “We UFC each other!”

“But when they’re tired and done fighting, do they stay together like we do? Tangled up and laughing and catching our breath?”

“Rhett,” Link said slowly, “what are you getting at?”

“I just…” Rhett began and then stopped, running his hand back and forth over the fuzz of his buzz cut. “I guess I thought that maybe we weren’t like other guys.”

“I mean, we’re not I guess,” Link said. “We’re more than friends. We’re brothers. Brothers to the end. Of course we’re closer than most people.”

“Is that it though?” Rhett asked.

Link stared at the blurry form of his friend, unsure how to answer. He wiped his face a few times with the back of his hands to stall for time and put on his glasses. His heart was racing, the pain he’d felt moments before temporarily eclipsed by the anxiousness growing in his gut.

“W-what are you talking about?” Link asked. Rhett took one brave step closer.

“Is that all we are? Brothers?”

“I don’t…what do you…but you’re in love with Jessie!” Link cried. Rhett took another step forward, placing him directly in front of the hood of the car and between Link’s knees. Link didn’t move away.

“Maybe,” Rhett shrugged. “Maybe I just feel like I have to be. I don’t know right now.”

“And I’m in love with…was in love with…” Link couldn’t finish his thought.

“Christy is stupid,” Rhett said, his voice suddenly sharp. “She said no to the most amazing man that ever existed.” Rhett put a hand on Link's shoulder and Link’s stomach tightened. Still, he didn’t move away.

“I said yes, though,” Rhett whispered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Without meaning to, Link spoke in a whisper as well.

“When we were fifteen we made a blood oath. We swore we were going to be together forever. We were going to be something great. That day, I said yes.”

“Rhett, we were kids.”

“We’re still here, though, aren’t we?”

Link opened his mouth to speak but he seemed to have forgotten how to. Words simply left him.

“And…you know…if you ever asked me again—” Rhett’s hand slid down Links arm and gingerly stroked his fingers, “—I think I’d still say yes.”

Link tried to force himself to say something, anything, but the moment had bound his tongue. He sat there for a moment, his mouth hanging open stupidly, and watched Rhett try to read the expression on his on face. Finally, frustrated with his inability to communicate, Link decided to act instead. His hands shot forward, each one landing gently on the side of Rhett’s head, and pulled him forward. Their lips collided with speed but then moved together slowly, testing the waters, exploring this forbidden fruit. If Rhett felt any surprise or hesitation, he didn’t show it. His hands moved naturally to Links hips, pulling him in until their bodies were as close as possible with Rhett stooping to match Link’s height. His hands then slid higher, one moving to cradle the back of Link’s head and the other grasping at the back of his shirt.

Link’s lips parted and Rhett followed his lead, his tongue slipping past and meeting Link’s eagerly. With each taste of each other and soft nibble of lips, their passion grew. Awkwardly, not breaking contact for a moment, Link adjusted so that he was sitting on his knees on the hood of the car which clanged loudly as it bent under his weight. The two chuckled at the sound but didn’t allow it to distract them. Their arms were fully wrapped around one another now, chests pressed so tightly they could feel each other heaving for breath.

Eventually, their passion slowed and Link placed three soft kisses on Rhett’s lips before pulling his head back just enough so that he could see the man’s face.

“Rhett?” he asked. “You said that if I asked again, you’d say yes.”

“I did,” Rhett said, his warm smile sending a fluttering feeling through Link’s whole body.

“What if…what if I’m asking again?” Link asked, his eyes darting away and then back to Rhett’s gaze.

“Are you asking?” Rhett encouraged. He pulled Link to him a bit tighter.

“Yeah,” Link said. “I think I am.”

“Then ask.”

“Will you…will you stay with me? Forever? Can we be like this forever?” Link’s blue eyes looked terrified even though he already knew the answer that was coming.

“Yeah,” Rhett replied. “I think we can.”

It hadn’t been the yes Link had expected when the night began. Instead, it had been a yes he now realized he’d yearned for more than any other. It wouldn’t be the same, of course. There would be no ceremony. No vows. But part of Link knew there didn’t need to be. Their ceremony happened years ago, their matching vows written on twin sheets of paper and signed in blood. As Link allowed himself to be lost in the warmth and love of Rhett’s embrace once again, he knew there didn’t have to be more. This was all he’d ever need.


End file.
